Future of creative talent to be unveiled at major art and design showcase
By Chris Birkle | Published on 12 May 2025
Categories: Press office; NTU Arts; School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment; School of Art & Design;
Future of creative talent to be unveiled at major art and design showcase
A celebration of emerging creative talent — with a rich tradition of showcasing award-winning student work — is set to open at Nottingham Trent University (NTU) for its annual art and design showcase.
Graduate Festival 25 by the Nottingham School of Art & Design, and the Student Showcase from the School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment, will both open at NTU’s City Campus and a range of external venues in Nottingham.
The exhibitions - which are free to the public - span a wide spectrum of creative disciplines, including fashion, knitwear and textile design; fashion marketing and communication; fine art, photography, film and animation; graphic design and illustration; stage and screen design; product and furniture design; as well as architecture, interior architecture and architectural technology.
Product Design by Luke Johnson
NTU students will also present their work at leading national events in London, including Graduate Fashion Week - the world’s largest showcase of new fashion talent - and New Designers, where disciplines such as product design, textiles, illustration, and animation will be represented. Graphic design students will also feature at D&AD New Blood, celebrating the brightest new talent in visual communication.
The university continues to partner with Nottingham’s vibrant creative community, with exhibitions and installations hosted in collaboration with local venues such as Nottingham Contemporary, Nottingham Playhouse, Backlit, Surface Gallery and the Carousel, expanding the festival's citywide presence.
BA Fashion, Communication and Promotion by Nell Giess
The Graduate Festival 25 begins today (12 May) with Filmmaking and Design for Film and Television student work going on show at the new Design & Digital Arts (D&DA) building. This is then followed by a range of other exhibitions, with full details available via ntu.ac.uk/gradfest.
The Student Showcase begins on 30 May with a public exhibition of product design, furniture design and architecture in the Newton building. Full details are available via ntu.ac.uk/c/adbe-student-showcase.
Michael Marsden, Executive Dean of the Nottingham School of Art & Design, said: “Creativity and design shape our surrounding physical and cultural environments, and the Graduate Festival 25 is an opportunity for the public to get a glimpse of the future.
“These shows represent not only the end of our students’ academic journeys, but the start of their bold and exciting creative careers. We invite the public to engage with our students’ work, hear their stories, and experience what the future of design will look like.”
Product Design by Gagandeep Heer
Dr Andrew Knight, Executive Dean of the School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment, said: “The annual showcase is always a proud moment for NTU, as it highlights the ingenuity and commitment of our students who apply creative thinking to real-world design challenges.
“These exhibitions offer the chance to see not only fantastically executed designs and prototypes, but also the deep research and problem-solving that goes into every concept. We look forward to welcoming members of the public to see them.”
Exhibitions vary by course area and dates. For full details - and to book for ticketed events - visit: www.ntu.ac.uk/gradfest and ntu.ac.uk/c/adbe-student-showcase
Notes for Editors
Press enquiries please contact Chris Birkle, Public Relations Manager, on telephone +44 (0)115 848 2310, or via email.
Nottingham Trent University (NTU) has been named UK ‘University of the Year’ five times in six years, (Times Higher Education Awards 2017, The Guardian University Awards 2019, The Times and Sunday Times 2018 and 2023, Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2023) and is consistently one of the top performing modern universities in the UK.
It is the 3rd best modern university in the UK (The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023). Students have voted NTU 1st in the UK for student employability (Uni Compare 2025)
NTU is the 5th largest UK institution by student numbers, with over 40,000 students and more than 4,400 staff located across six campuses. It has an international student population of almost 7,000 and an NTU community representing over 160 countries.
NTU owns two Queen’s Anniversary Prizes for outstanding achievements in research (2015, 2021). The first recognises NTU’s research on the safety and security of global citizens. The second was awarded for research in science, engineering, arts and humanities to investigate and restore cultural objects, buildings and heritage. The Research Excellence Framework (2021) classed 83% of NTU’s research activity as either world-leading or internationally excellent.
NTU was awarded GOLD in the national 2023 Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) assessment, as it was in 2019.
NTU is a top 10 for sport (British Universities and Colleges Sport league table 2023).
NTU is the most environmentally sustainable university in the UK and second in the world (UI Green Metric University World Rankings, 2023).